|
Published 9:27 a.m. PST Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2001 LOS ANGELES (AP) - The chairman of the Jewish Defense League was arrested in connection with a failed bombing plot, federal authorities said. Irv Rubin, 56, and a member of the militant group, Earl Krugel, 59, were booked early Wednesday at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, detention center spokeswoman Donna Davis said. The arrests late Tuesday were in connection with a bombing plot, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. He would not describe the alleged scheme except to say, "The bombing was not carried out." Criminal charges should be filed later Wednesday, Mrozek said. Law enforcement agencies raided a home identified by television stations as Krugel's late Tuesday night. Footage showed officers carrying out weapons and cardboard boxes. Calls to the FBI, U.S. Customs and the JDL were not immediately returned. The Jewish Defense League was originally formed by Meir Kahane to mount armed response to anti-Semitic acts in New York City. It gained notoriety when its members were linked to bombings, most of them aimed at Soviet targets in retaliation for the way that country treated its Jewish population. Kahane left the JDL and moved to Israel. A power struggle ensued, with Rubin among the contenders for its leadership. Kahane was assassinated in New York in 1990. El Sayyid Nosair, 36, an Egyptian-born Muslim, was convicted in connection with the shooting. Thursday, January 10, 2002 Associated Press The chairman and a member of the Jewish Defense League were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on charges of conspiring to bomb the office of an Arab-American congressman and a prominent Los Angeles mosque. The 24-page indictment alleges that JDL chairman Irv Rubin, 56, and Earl Krugel, 59, recruited another person to actually plant the bombs and that person went to the FBI. Targets of the planned bombings were King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, Calif., and the field office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. The charges carry maximum penalties of two life terms in prison for each defendant, plus a possible additional 75 years for Rubin and an additional 95 years for Krugel. At first, Rubin planned to bomb the offices of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Los Angeles, the indictment said, but he later changed his mind. Acting as a "confidential informant," the unidentified recruit, reported to be a longtime JDL member, met with Krugel a dozen times from Oct. 17 to Dec. 11, 2001, and went shopping with Krugel at a hardware store for bomb components which were stored in Krugel's garage, the indictment said. Rubin, who attended some of the meetings, was described as approving the plans and giving directions to the confidential informant. Authorities have said that the informant was equipped with tape recording equipment and taped his meetings with the pair. "On or about Oct. 19, 2001, defendants Irving David Rubin and Earl Leslie Krugel met with the confidential informant and discussed plans to carry out bombings of buildings associated with Arab religious or political institutions," the indictment said. The indictment said that by Dec. 11, when the targets were specified, Rubin had instructed the informant to purchase a certain brand of gunpowder and it was stored in Krugel's garage along with bomb components including fuse material, pipes and endcaps. The nine-count indictment charged the men with conspiracy, conspiracy to use a destructive device, attempted arson, attempted arson at a U.S. government facility, possession of a destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence, solicitation to commit a crime of violence, possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm. Arraignment was set for Jan. 22. |